Recent reviews by lophi

W game, G-string despite its off-putting name, is extremely under appreciated and deserves so much more recognition. I've not played the game fully through yet, but felt like I had to say something about it considering it's all made by ONE person. Not to mention that I was able to sink multiple hours into the game and not even be half way through it yet is astounding. Few people will be able to appreciate or even know the amount of work and effort put into all of this, in addition to preaching to a small target audience.

if you enjoy:
-the half life series/source games
-gritty dystopian cyberpunk
-atmospheric/scenic explore type games
-mediocre puzzles(about as challenging as half life 2, maybe a little more)
-feral sex robots(in an aggressive way)

then you will enjoy G-string

ok simple review over
I've only played this game for a few hours and I already have so much to say about it. But the first thing I want to mention is detail. The amount of detail put into this game by one person is unthinkable to me. There are neutral NPCs that exist for no other reason but to add immersion, wandering around. There are broken walls and rooms in buildings that exist for no purpose other than to be more atmospheric in depth, or sometimes you can find ammo and health tucked away in spots you wouldn't think to check. Every time I walk into a room I am reminded of the complexities of the world I am in, metal beams wires, black mold walls, dead androids, boarded doors, chipped floors, staircases falling apart, whole lakes of swamp water filled with barrels, old cars, furniture and barely walking androids. Everything rusted and rotting with age, as though this had all been going on for decades.

so far I think the overall level/puzzle design gameplay wise is pretty decent, though I could see people getting lost if they haven't played hl2 previously, because it does bank off on some of those mechanics, including familiarizing yourself with the movement(its just like hl2) because there are a lot of areas where you need to jump on very small platforms. There have been a couple sections where I had a hard time figuring out where to go because it's not very telling, but I feel that is intended to motivate you to further explore, or try things such as shooting subtle explosive barrels(or boxes). There's fairly a lot of loot around, and you don't really need to worry about ammo as long as you dont dump it all into zombie droids constantly.

theres enemies and new obstacles that are refreshing, but also gave subtle hints back to half life, which i enjoyed. For example, barnacles being replaced with laser activated ceiling dropped mines, and city scanners replaced with explosive drones. You can tell the AI is a bit reused, but that's not a bad thing, and works well in this game.

overall?
it feels like I reached my hand into another dimension and pulled out an alternative reality half life game. While the gameplay is similar paced to half life, I didn't feel like i was playing a half life game. this game definitely deserves a title above just being a source mod of half life 2. im happy it got it's own place on steam. might update review when i finish game fully idk

I originally played this game back in 2019, and... it struck me in a different way than most little adventure games. Possibly even most single player games in general. Maybe because I used to play little big planet on the PS3 when I was younger, or maybe because im an avid enjoyer of atmospheric games, but honestly I think theres more to it than that.

where do i even begin? theres TONS of words to describe this game. creepy, dark, atmospheric, cute, surreal, cold, cruel, morbid, i could go on - but what mainly struck me was how much story is told by a game with ZERO dialogue, and not only that, but the game itself i feel has multiple hidden meanings. You play as a character named "Six" which is only known because of the devs talking about the game. A surrealistically small girl with a bright yellow raincoat in the darkest depths of the miles length Maw. She wakes up in panic after a vision of a tall woman, with a mask. And she only has one goal in mind: survive

The gameplay is mostly cat and mouse, there is a lot of being chased, running to a small hole and hiding, or finding another route. However what I will say is, the gameplay is not repetitive. There's only a few antagonists in the game, sure, and like other games you learn their mechanics and counter them, but every level interaction with them is fairly different.
sometimes youre after a key to open a lock, but most of the time there are some cool and interesting ways you escape them.

The style of this game is unbelievable, truly grasps the feel of a distorted bad dream, dark, hard to make out things at times, theres no text, mostly drawings on the walls by other entrapped children. This game gave you the true feeling of being alone. The animations are more stop motion, but in a good way, because everything you encounter in the game still feels alive. Especially in the second game. The atmosphere is dark, and cold; water dripping from neglected rotting pipes, clattering footsteps of other creatures, or kids running, machines turning and winding, and children humming in the background of the music. As you venture you'll see this place for what it really is.

The puzzle/map design is flawless. None of the puzzles are frustratingly hard, but none of them are easy either. You have to think about some of the puzzles, but they aren't hidden in the dark where you'd never think to look. There is however, some hidden things you can find if you explore more. I was actually so curious about the map/level design that I looked into the devs who'd worked on it, and most of the level designers for this game are the same devs that worked on some little big planet games, and that made me really happy.

Dont even get me started with the music, and sounds. They are everything in this game. The creepy clattering of metal machinery, winding gears, the muffled sound of waves hitting the maw, and the music fitting perfectly into the sounds that surround you, as if the music is apart of the world. Out of probably any game I've played, the music and sounds, and the way they all fit together in this series is better than any other game I've played. Some are subtle, calm, peaceful even, and then they are fast, and loud. You'll just have to see for yourself what I mean.

A lot of passion was put into this game, like most indie games, it makes me happy to see its still considered one with how popular its gotten over the years. It surprised me how few bugs there were in this game, it's received a lot of polish, even when it first released. Nothing ever broke my immersion. There's a surprising amount of lore behind this game, and if you're interested they have a audiobook on spotify you can listen to for free, which so far is the only real dialogue within the lore of this game.

In summary, this game is a surrealistic morbid dark lonely version of Little Big Planet and i will forever love it for that. It had a big part in my mid-to late teens, even up to now I adore this game.
11/10 if there was any game series I could replay for the first time, it'd be this one.

pretty alright game. :)

"Welcome! Welcome to City 17. You have chosen, or have been chosen, to relocate to one of our finest remaining urban centers. I thought so much of City 17 that I elected to establish my administration here, in the citadel so thoughtfully provided by our benefactors. I've been proud to call City 17 my home. And so, whether you are here to stay, or passing through on your journey to parts unknown, welcome to City 17. It's safer here. Let me read a letter I recently received. "Dear Dr. Breen, why has the Combine seen fit to suppress our reproductive cycle? Sincerely, a concerned citizen." Thank you for writing, concerned. Of course, your question touches on one of the basic biological impulses, with all of its associated hopes and fears for the future of the species. I also detect some unspoken questions. Do Our Benefactors really know what's best for us? What gives them the right to make this kind of decision for mankind? Will they ever deactivate the suppression field and let us breed again? Allow me to address the anxieties underlying your concerns, rather than try to answer every possible question you might have left unvoiced. First, let us consider the fact that for the first time ever, as a species, immortality is within our reach. This simple fact has far reaching implications; it requires radical rethinking and revision of our genetic imperatives. It also requires planning and forethought that run in direct opposition to our neural presets. I find it helpful at times like these to remind myself that our true enemy is instinct. Instinct was our mother when we were an infant species. Instinct coddled us and kept us safe in those hardscrabble years when we hardened our sticks and cooked our first meals above a meager fire, and started at the shadows that leapt upon the cavern's walls. But inseparable from instinct, is its dark twin, superstition. Instinct is inextricably bound to unreasoning impulses, and today we clearly see its true nature. Instinct has just become aware of its irrelevance, and like a cornered beast, it will not go down without a bloody fight. Instinct would inflict a fatal injury on our species. Instinct creates its own oppressors, and bids us rise up against them. Instinct tells us that the unknown is a threat, rather than an opportunity. Instinct slyly and covertly compels us away from change and progress. Instinct, therefore, must be expunged. It must be fought tooth and nail, beginning with the basest of human urges: the urge to reproduce. We should thank Our Benefactors for giving us respite from this overpowering force. They have thrown a switch and exercised our demons in a single stroke. They have given us the strength we never could have summoned to overcome this compulsion. They have given us purpose. They have turned our eyes toward the stars. Let me assure you that the suppressing field will be shut off on the day that we have mastered ourselves, the day we can prove we no longer need it. And that day of transformation, I have it on good authority, is close at hand. It has come to my attention that some have lately called me a Collaborator, as if such a term were shameful. I ask you, what greater endeavor exists than that of collaboration? In our current unparalleled enterprise, refusal to collaborate is simply a refusal to grow; an insistence on suicide, if you will. Did the lung fish refuse to breathe air? It did not. It crept forth, boldly, while its brethren remained in the blackest ocean abyss, with lidless eyes forever staring at the dark, ignorant and doomed despite eternal vigilance. Would we model ourselves on the trilobite? Are all the accomplishments of humanity fated to be nothing more than a layer of broken plastic shards, thinly strewn across a fossil bed, sandwiched between the burgess shale, and an eon's worth of mud? In order to be true to our nature, and our destiny, we must aspire to greater things. We have outgrown our cradle. It is futile to cry for mother's milk when our true sustenance awaits us among the stars. And only the Universal Union, that small minds call the Combine, can carry us there. Therefore I say yes, I am a collaborator. We must all collaborate, willingly, eagerly, if we expect to reap the benefits of unification. And reap we shall. You've Plunged Humanity into free fall... Nows the moment to redeem yourself." ~Dr. Wallace Breen 2023




Basicly this is the best campain game I've ever played!

played it a little, it's ok